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Machiavelli wrote The Prince (1513), he was also writing a very different book, Discourses on Livy (or, more precisely, Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy [Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio]). Both books were first published only after Machiavelli’s death, the Discourses on Livy in 1531 and The Prince in 1532. They are distinguished from his other works by the fact that in the dedicatory letter to each he says that it contains everything he knows. The dedication of the Discourses on Livy presents the work to two of Machiavelli’s friends, who he says are not princes but deserve to be, and criticizes the sort of begging letter he appears to have written in dedicating The Prince. The two works differ also in substance and manner. Whereas The Prince is mostly concerned with princes—particularly new princes—and is short, easy to read, and, according to many, dangerously wicked, the Discourses on Livy is a “reasoning” that is long, difficult, and full of advice on how to preserve republics. Every thoughtful treatment of Machiavelli has had to come to terms with the differences between his two most important works. More information can be found at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Niccolo-Machiavelli

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Niccolo Machiavelli was a brilliant Italian (he was actually born in Florence - it used to be more of a city-state back then, so saying “Italian” is not completely correct) political scientist, diplomat, and philosopher. The main legacy he left after himself is his famous book “The Prince”; although the English translation is not really exact, or rather does not fully convey the meaning of what Machiavelli put in this word (“The Ruler” would probably be more appropriate). In this book, Machiavelli described the main governing principles that should be considered and applied by every supreme person standing in the head of a state. Although, in our opinion, the ”The Prince” is extremely rational and pragmatic, which are the qualities advised to any ruler, the principles of absolute monarchy described in it looked too harsh for both Machiavelli’s contemporaries and descendants; the term “Machiavellian” had become synonymous to “cunning,” “ruthless,” “authoritarian,” and “pragmatic.” His ideas are far from the democratic and/or humanitarian ideals we adhere to nowadays, but the importance of “The Prince” - a really practical step-by-step guide to establishing a strong rule - cannot be denied.